MORGANTOWN - This is the day Joe Alexander has worked toward, almost single-mindedly, virtually his entire life. So when his name is called tonight at Madison Square Garden, don't expect him to do something silly.

Like walk up to the podium wearing Bob Huggins' awful gold suit.

"No, that's not going to happen,'' Alexander said. "But it's not that he hasn't joked about it and tried to get me to do it. I just tell him it won't fit me.''

It's a pretty good bet that Huggins won't be wearing the suit either, although he plans to be there with Alexander for the NBA's annual draft, which will be televised on ESPN beginning at 7 p.m.

Of course, attire isn't nearly the most intriguing question surrounding Alexander in tonight's draft. It's all about where the erstwhile West Virginia forward will go.

The smart money is on the No. 8 pick, the one held by the Milwaukee Bucks. That's where the overwhelming majority of mock drafts have the 6-foot-8 forward slotted.

Huggins, though, has been around long enough to know that the draft is pretty much a crapshoot.

"We don't know,'' said Huggins, who will see his 14th player drafted (the first 13 were while he was the coach at Cincinnati). "Joe could go somewhere in the top 10, he could go somewhere in the top 20. But I don't want to sit in the green room very long.''

Alexander only last week made his final decision to give up his senior season at West Virginia and remain in the draft. He took advantage of NBA and NCAA rules that permit players to test the waters without forfeiting their college eligibility and did so well in workouts that he became the most intriguing candidate in the draft. Even as recently as four months ago, Alexander didn't appear to be more than a blip on the radar of most teams in the league.

His well-chronicled explosion in the final weeks of the season and the NCAA tournament, along with his performance in front of scouts in workouts, changed all of that.

In the back of his mind, though, Alexander still isn't totally sure he made the right decision by giving up his final year of eligibility.

MORGANTOWN - This is the day Joe Alexander has worked toward, almost single-mindedly, virtually his entire life. So when his name is called tonight at Madison Square Garden, don't expect him to do something silly.

Like walk up to the podium wearing Bob Huggins' awful gold suit.

"No, that's not going to happen,'' Alexander said. "But it's not that he hasn't joked about it and tried to get me to do it. I just tell him it won't fit me.''

It's a pretty good bet that Huggins won't be wearing the suit either, although he plans to be there with Alexander for the NBA's annual draft, which will be televised on ESPN beginning at 7 p.m.

Of course, attire isn't nearly the most intriguing question surrounding Alexander in tonight's draft. It's all about where the erstwhile West Virginia forward will go.

The smart money is on the No. 8 pick, the one held by the Milwaukee Bucks. That's where the overwhelming majority of mock drafts have the 6-foot-8 forward slotted.

Huggins, though, has been around long enough to know that the draft is pretty much a crapshoot.

"We don't know,'' said Huggins, who will see his 14th player drafted (the first 13 were while he was the coach at Cincinnati). "Joe could go somewhere in the top 10, he could go somewhere in the top 20. But I don't want to sit in the green room very long.''

Alexander only last week made his final decision to give up his senior season at West Virginia and remain in the draft. He took advantage of NBA and NCAA rules that permit players to test the waters without forfeiting their college eligibility and did so well in workouts that he became the most intriguing candidate in the draft. Even as recently as four months ago, Alexander didn't appear to be more than a blip on the radar of most teams in the league.

His well-chronicled explosion in the final weeks of the season and the NCAA tournament, along with his performance in front of scouts in workouts, changed all of that.

In the back of his mind, though, Alexander still isn't totally sure he made the right decision by giving up his final year of eligibility.

"I still don't know 100 percent if it was the right decision,'' Alexander said. "I don't think you can ever know.''

Hearing his name called among the first dozen or so picks, though, would ease his mind considerably. It will also make him a rich man.

For instance, the NBA's rookie salary scale for next season is likely to pay the No. 8 pick in the draft - the spot where most see Alexander going - a guaranteed $4.15 million over the first two years of the contract. That is guaranteed money, regardless of how the player performs. The third and fourth years of the contract are worth even more - nearly $3 million in the fourth year - but are team options.

Even if Alexander slips to the middle of the 30-team first round, his two-year guarantee would be in the $1.6-1.8 million range.

Where Alexander winds up depends largely upon what happens in the earlier picks in the draft, where there is also a definite West Virginia or Huggins flavor. The first two picks are expected to be Memphis guard Derrick Rose and Kansas State forward Michael Beasley, the latter recruited to Kansas State by Huggins when he was the coach there for one year.

After that, the third pick could be Huntington's O.J. Mayo, who played one year at Southern Cal before entering the draft.

Barring a trade - and that's certainly not a possibility to write off - the first team looking for a forward in Alexander's mold is the New York Knicks at No. 6. Both Alexander and Italy's 19-year-old Danilo Gallinari appear to be high on new coach (and Mullens native) Mike D'Antoni's list.

The next team with a need at forward is Milwaukee.

Alexander said it doesn't matter to him.

"I didn't grow up watching the NBA. I don't have a favorite team,'' said Alexander, who grew up in China while his father worked there for Nestle. "It really just comes down to wanting to go to a winning team and a team where I can play right away.''

Reach Dave Hickman at 348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.